Perhaps nobody enjoyed the Ankeny football team’s dominant performance on Friday night more than injured junior offensive lineman Layne Hearne.
Hearne watched from the sidelines in a motorized wheelchair as the Hawks rolled to a 59-0 win over Ankeny Centennial in the annual crosstown showdown at Ankeny Stadium. It was the largest margin of victory in the history of the Jag-Hawk rivalry.
“I did not expect to see a running clock,” said Hearne, who was severely injured while wrestling in a tournament at Cedar Rapids in May. “I was talking before the game, and my score prediction was 28-17. Our guys definitely performed really well tonight.”
It was a “Gold Out” game for the Ankeny fans, many of whom wore “Hold the Line for Layne” t-shirts in support of Hearne. Both schools participated in a fundraiser to help pay for a van that will ease the burden of transportation for Hearne and his family.
“It’s honestly amazing to see the whole community rise together for a great cause–even the Centennial fans,” Hearne said. “It’s a great weekend to put aside the rivalry and just come together.”
On the field, Hearne’s teammates dominated every facet of the game. Dawson Whitinger ran for two touchdowns, Mason Machan passed for two more, and Caleb Alhussaini scored on a 59-yard punt return as the Hawks improved to 4-0 on the season.
“It feels really good,” said Machan. “The final score shows it–we played really well and we executed really well.”
Centennial (2-2) entered the game with a high-powered offense featuring one of the state’s most prolific passing attacks, but quarterback Brekken Miller was under constant pressure and had little time to find any of his talented receivers. The Jaguars had been averaging 31 points a game.
“They’ve been good,” Ankeny coach Jeff Bauer said of the Jaguars’ offense, “but our defense is special. My defensive coaches are amazing, and they were prepared for everything.”
Ankeny drove 55 yards in 13 plays on the game’s opening possession to take the lead for good. Canden Ganahl booted a 36-yard field goal to cap the drive.
On Centennial’s first possession, Miller raced down the sideline for a 40-yard gain and an apparent first down on third-and-16, but he fumbled at the end of the play and the Hawks recovered.
“Zane McAnelly forced the fumble on that first drive, and that was huge,” said Ankeny linebacker Rowan Doak. “I did not expect us to be that dominant, but I knew once we started scoring easily and stopping them that it could become like that.”
A 32-yard pass from Machan to Quin Somers set up a 5-yard touchdown run by Whitinger with 42 seconds left in the first quarter. Whitinger took a hard hit in the backfield but shook it off and then found the end zone.
The Jaguars’ next possession resulted in a three-and-out, all of them incomplete passes, and took just 12 seconds off the clock. That forced Centennial’s defense right back onto the field, which became a recurring theme throughout the first half.
Ankeny then drove 75 yards in 11 plays and extended the lead to 17-0 on a 4-yard run by Whitinger over the left side. The big plays on the drive were a 28-yard screen pass to Devan Goode and a 23-yard run by Cooper McDowell.
“We’re a talented team, and the coaches did a great job of preparing them,” Bauer said. “We just started executing better and better, and we’re building each week.”
Machan threw a 30-yard scoring pass to DJ Tate on the Hawks’ next possession. He later tossed a 2-yard touchdown pass to Somers in the second half.
“My coaches have put me in great positions to be successful,” Machan said. “We were really dominant up front, and all of our skill guys were getting open. DJ had a big one where he got open down the middle and made a big play, and Quin had a big one down here (in the back of the end zone).”
Alhussaini electrified the crowd with his long punt return to make it 31-0 with 1:39 left in the first half. He nearly scored again on another return in the second half, but was knocked out of bounds at Centennial’s 1-yard line–setting up Somers’ touchdown catch shortly thereafter.
“I just trusted my coaches and their calls. I was listening to them on the sideline telling me what to do,” Alhussaini said. “We came in knowing that our defense was going to play really well against these guys. We just had to step up and make sure that we put points on the board the whole game.”
Logan Wirtz recovered a fumble on Centennial’s ensuing possession. That led to a 3-yard touchdown run by Goode with 46 seconds to go in the half.
Ankeny ran 44 offensive plays in the first two quarters. The Jaguars had just 18.
“We had such great execution. Everyone was doing their job,” Machan said. “I think we’ve got the best defense in the state. They know how to shut offenses down, and (Centennial’s) offense is one of the best there is. (Miller) is an amazing athlete and an amazing passer, and they were able to shut him down tonight.”
Ankeny linebacker Hunter Minner nearly had a pick-six in the third quarter. He intercepted a pass from Miller near midfield and rumbled down to the Centennial 5 before being tackled.
“I just trust my coaches and trust my team,” Minner said. “I just kind of looked up and the ball was there. I just trust my training and my coaches.”
That set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Doak on fourth-and-goal to give the Hawks a 52-0 lead with 1:17 left in the period.
“It felt great (to score),” Doak said. “I came here originally as a quarterback, but it felt good to get into the end zone as one after playing linebacker.”
Ankeny’s final touchdown came with less than 4 minutes left on a 6-yard run by another backup quarterback, Brody Butler. The Hawks still trail in the all-time series 9-7, but have now won six of the last eight meetings against Centennial.
“It feels great,” Minner said. “We’ve been working hard, and we believed in ourselves this whole week.”
Ankeny will now face a pair of huge road tests in the next two weeks, traveling to Sioux City East on Friday before going to Johnston on Oct. 2 to meet the Dragons (3-1). The Black Raiders (4-0) remained unbeaten with a 48-7 win over Sioux City West on Friday.
“Sioux City East and Johnston are the two best teams on our schedule. They’re both really, really good,” Bauer said. “We have to come down from this and get back to work on Sunday.”
